JP Morgan walks away from Tianhe IPO

The bank ceased working on the IPO after managers raised concerns over the employment of Tianhe chairman Qi Wei’s daughter Joyce Wei, said IFR, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Wei has recently resigned from the bank’s corporate finance group and joined a European investment bank, said the people.

JP had been in talks over an IPO with Tianhe since at least 2011 and it is unclear whether the company signed any formal letter of engagement before or after Wei joined the bank, said the report.

The bank has recently stopped working on the Hong Kong IPO of China Everbright Bank after it was reported that US authorities had launched a bribery investigation related to the hiring of Chinese state officials’ children.